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Just back from a phenomenal performance of Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink, directed by Carey Perloff. Saw Ms. Perloff in the foyer after the play and I told her that our first play at the Geary Theater was the ACT production of Indian Ink in 1999. We came back each year as season ticket holders for 15 years after that, and our numbers grew as the ACT plays became a way for our extended family and close friends to meet in the city. Now here we were at another production of Indian Ink. She told me it was full circle for her too as Firdous Ramji had played the son Anish Das in 1999 and now in 2015 he was playing the father Nirad Das!

Stoppard’s interweaving timelines are masterfully staged by Perloff at the Geary and that was what had enticed us in 1999. Since then we have seen excellent depictions of parallel timelines in The Invention of Love and Arcadia and now again in India Ink.

Brenda Meaney as Flora Crewe was both earthy and ethereal as demanded by the play. Her friendship and subsequent relationship with Nirad Das was crackling with chemistry. Roberta Maxwell as Eleanor Swan and Pej Vahdat as Nirad Das’s son Anish kept the mystery of Flora’s sojourn in India alive as they slowly peeled away the layers of the past. Who was Flora Crewe and what was her relationship with the painter Nirad? Anthony Fusco played Eldon Pike, searching for the details of Flora’s life, bungling his way through the mystery one footnote at a time.

If you have not seen it yet, then you have exactly one week to do so! This one is not to be missed.

Chop the ginger and garlic with one cup vinegar in a food processor. Heat mustard oil in a pan and start frying the ginger garlic until well roasted. Add the mustard powder and coriander powder and salt and keep frying. Grind the chillies with a half cup vinegar and add to the pan. Keep frying and add the salt and fry a lot. Add the last half cup vinegar. Fry for a bit and then let sit until cooled down. Put into jars and store in fridge. Have to figure out if this can be preserved. If anyone has tips on that please do let me know.

CAUTION – these are very hot peppers and you should take care handling them, wash all utensils, chopping board and hands very carefully after you are done.

Stolichnaya or similar vodka.

Add the peppers to the vodka and let infuse for a few days. Store the bottle in the fridge and add a tablespoon of spicy Stolichnaya to your Bloody Mary, Margarita or Mojito! No need for that Worcestershire sauce in the Bloody Mary.

Indian cooking involves lots of spices and fresh ingredients that are not always on hand or a chore to prepare each time. Here are some shortcuts from my mother that are really helpful!

Ginger and garlic cubes: I use fresh young ginger that is not very fibrous. Usually local stores (like Indian or Asian grocery stores) have the best ginger. After peeling the ginger I chop it roughly into big pieces. Then I take about an equal weight of fresh garlic and peel the garlic cloves. Getting cloves separated, putting in a metal mixing bowl inverting another bowl over the first one and shaking really hard will peel the garlic! Try it, it is magic :) Next blend together ginger and garlic in a blender. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze overnight. Pop out the cubes and store in freezer in a jar or zipped bag. Next time you cook a curry pop in one or two cubes of this mix while frying the spices to get the fresh ginger garlic taste. The stuff can be stored for a long period of time. You can also blend and freeze them separately if you usually do not use both together. The ginger cubes are great for making ginger tea.

Fresh tomatoes are a must in many curries, but very expensive in the winter time. When tomato plants are booming the summer, chop and freeze in usable quantities in ziplock bags, and then use a frozen portion to fry with the spices. I get a farm basket every week and all summer there are way more tomatoes and tomatillos than I can eat, so I always have frozen portions stashed away in my freezer. The same goes for onions, chop and freeze a big batch for use whenever needed. If you get a big bag of hot chilli peppers, you can chop and store them frozen for future use.

Specialty juices, like cherry or pomegranate, can be frozen in ice cube trays before their use by date, and then added into mixed blended drinks, like margaritas.

Admit it, if you are a vegetarian it is hard to find suitable food that tastes good too! So often I feel like a wet blanket when the first words out of my mouth are “Will they have vegetarian food?” when friends suggest a restaurant. And if you are a Vegan then life is very tough indeed. Sometimes it is helpful to do some research online, and sometimes you just have to ask at the restaurant if they have food that suits your dietary preferences. In Waikiki we chanced upon Roy’s, well known for its Asian inspired fusion cuisine, and online reviews said excellent things about the place. So we decided to go in and try the food out. However, except for one vegan sushi dish, most of the dishes praised online in vegetarian forums were not even on the menu. So we asked and boy were we delighted! Roy’s has an entire vegan menu, and they are extremely flexible with substitutions on those items.

Roy’s Vegan Menu

The place is pricey but the food is so scrumptious that of our three nights in Honolulu, two dinners were at Roy’s. The pride of place no doubt is the vegan sushi on the main menu. Containing all the usual sushi ingredients, it jumps to the top of the heap with its garbanzo based “fish substitute”. It is unique, flavorful and a meal in itself. Also on the vegan menu is a “poke” dish, made of fresh watermelon and bursting with flavor it is quite amazing.

Vegan sushi rolls, and “poke”

In addition, the vegan menu has a hearts of palm ravioli that is is a visual and taste treat. The portion is small, and may not work as a stand alone dish to make a meal, but add the sushi to it and you have a great dinner.

Hearts of palm ravioli

The Cauliflower quinoa risotto is an interesting take on risotto, nicely balancing the carbs with some protein. It comes with asparagus and mushrooms, but you can easily substitute any one of these for the other. Both are wonderful accompaniments to the risotto.

Cauliflower risotto

By the time you are done with all this and groaning with over-indulgence there is still a desert to be had. The raspberries and almond tart with soy “gelato” is passable, but really not a star of this menu. However, on take two the staff happily substituted the vegan sushi for the dessert and we were all very happy with that! I know Roy’s can be found on every island in Hawaii, but also in other states – so find one and try it! You will love it.

This post focused on the vege/vegan menu items, but others in the party who had the real sushi, the duck and the rosted chicken were smacking their lips too and happily went back the second day. If you can keep the omnivores, vegetarians and vegans happy then what else does one need – so well done Roy’s!!!

In Spring I bought some seedlings for my planter boxes. In the mix were three Thai Dragon Chilli seedlings and a Habanero seedling. The Habanero has decided to sulk big time and make no flowers, but the Thai Dragon Chilly plants went crazy and made so many fruit that I knew I had to concoct a plan for using them. A colleague who loves to ca stuff suggested Thai Dragon chilli jam and I was instantly on board. The canning paraphernalia was hers (though I am very tempted to go out and get my own set of equipment) and today we set to work. On the cards was a Chilli Jam, a Hot Sauce and some Hot Chilli oil. The final results are fantastic, and the jam is super hot and super addictive. I ate a bunch of it with walnut bread and cheese, and loved it.

Recipes follow:

Red Hot Sauce (from the Ball Blue Book)

2 quarts chopped tomatoes

1.5 cups chopped Thai Dragon peppers

1 quart vinegar

2 cans tomato sauce

1 cube garlic paste

1 cup sugar

1 Tbs salt

2 Tbs pickling spices

Combine tomatoes and peppers and 2 cups vinegar in a pot and cook until soft. Process through a food mill and discard skins and seeds. Add sugar, salt, spices in a muslin bag, tomato sauce, and garlic. Add 2 cups vinegar. Cook for 30 minutes. Ladled into jars that were boiled for 10 minutes, process for 15 minutes with lids on. Yields 4 half pints.

Thai pepper jam:

12 oz peppers

2 cups cider vinegar

2 red bell peppers

6 cups sugar

2 pouches liquid pectin

Prepare jars by boiling for 10 minutes. In a blender add Thai dragon peppers, and 1 cup vinegar and process until smooth. Strain into a saucepan. Reserve the skins, and seeds for making Hot Chilli Oil. Puree the bell peppers in half cup vinegar. Combine Chilli and pepper puree, add rest of vinegar and sugar and boil over high heat stirring constantly for 10 minutes. Stir in pectin, boil hard, stirring for 1 minute. Remove from hear, and skim foam if any. Fill jars, 1/4 in head space. Process for 10 minutes with lids on.

Hot Chilli Oil:

2 cups oil – Canols or other ( I used a Grapeseed, Canola and Olive oil blend)

Chilli chopped or remaining after straining from Jam recipe.

Heat oil, add chillies and cook for 5 minutes until oil takes on red hue. Ladle into jars with the chilli residue. Use to season pasta, pizza, or to lightly pan fry tortillas in a few drops of chilli oil on each side.

The man who mesmerized women of all ages for almost a decade, got letters from them written their own blood, and caused mass hysteria wherever he went, Rajesh Khanna, is the subject of this documentary: